Is Beck's 15 Minutes Of Fame Finally Fading?

Other than Sarah Palin, it's hard to think of anyone who has overstayed their 15 minutes of fame more than Glenn Beck. But if yesterday's kick off to his "Restoring America" tour is any indication, we may finally be reaching the end of Beck overtime. As the Asbury Park Press reported, only about 700 people showed up at an arena that holds 8,000 (H/T Media Matters).

Jason Easley, at Policususa, notes that Beck's popularity has been waning since 2010 (H/T Hula).

The truth is that much like Sarah Palin, and the Tea Party itself, Glenn Beck on his own, can’t draw a crowd. Despite oodles of media coverage and promotion, all of Beck’s events have underperformed. Before the disappointment that was the Rally to Restore Honor, there were Beck’s assorted Tea Party tax protests and 9/12 group events. The little secret behind all of them is that none of them drew a crowd equivalent to the hype and publicity that the events were given.

This weekend, Beck was even on the cover of The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and he could not attract a crowd. Unlike Palin, Beck has a long track record of drawing a crowd, especially when he is hawking new book, but since his ratings have declined there is no doubt that the crowds have gotten smaller.

Easley went on to say that Beck's "lunatic Armageddon shtick seems to be getting old even to the very fringe he is playing to and his transformation into Glenn the Evangelist is not putting butts in seats."

I'm not so quick to write off Beck's knack for exploiting other people's fears and woes for his own self-serving gains. But this is certainly not good news for Beck. It most certainly is good news for the country.